The present invention relates generally to an assembly and device to assist and facilitate the proper operation of various openings or intake ports found in automotive, aerospace, or marine vehicles. More particularly, the present invention provides a filter housing assembly for use in transportation vehicles that reduces and prevents foreign matter ingestion and inhibits air flow into portions of an automotive vehicle.
Transportation and passenger carrying vehicles, such as automotive vehicles, rail vehicles, marine vehicles, and aircraft incorporate a number of openings, ports, or intake areas for the intake, circulation, recirculation, and/or ventilation of ambient, outside, or climate controlled air. Many of these vehicles incorporate and utilize heating, cooling, other ventilation systems or devices to regulate and/or control temperature and other air flow properties of the interior or cabin of the vehicle. Additionally, many automotive vehicles come equipped with an air-conditioning system or other form of outside ventilation system, which are well known in the art. To facilitate the environmental, health, safety, and comfort of the vehicle occupants, air is typically channeled into the vehicle interior from the outside atmosphere or otherwise recirculated within the vehicle cabin. Several technical challenges are presented in channeling the outside or ambient air into the vehicle. First, the air intake should be located in an area of the vehicle such that it cannot inadvertently channel fumes, residue, or other post-combustion gas, matter, or particulates from the engine compartment into the cabin. Second, the air intake should be positioned in a location such that snow, precipitation, foreign matter, or road debris does not block or inhibit ingress or egress of the ambient atmosphere. Additionally, the air intake should be protected so that precipitation and/or leaves or other various debris and does not enter into the heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system itself and cause damage to portions of the vehicle.
Most vehicles place the engine in the front portion of the vehicle. Generally speaking, immediately behind the engine compartment is a sealed interior or cabin of the vehicle which is separated from the engine compartment by a fire wall. Adjacent the fire wall and inclined rearwardly from the top of the fire wall is the windshield. Extending forwardly from the base of the windshield and above the fire wall is a generally flat region called the cowling. The cowling is covered by the rear portion of the front hood which also extends across the engine compartment. The lower portion of the hood has a seal molding which seals the engine compartment from the remainder of the cowling. However, the engine hood is spaced away from the windshield allowing air to enter and circulate into the cowling area from behind the front hood. Typically, the air intake for most vehicles is placed in the cowling area since the cowling area is opened to the atmosphere, covered by the front hood but yet sealed away from engine compartment by the molding of the front hood. The cowling typically has a flared opening for the air inlet for the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. Air from the air inlet is piped, channeled, or vented into the interior of the vehicle below the dashboard where it is appropriately heated, cooled, vented and/or filtered to meet the environmental comfort, and safety requirements of the vehicle occupants. Although the cowling is covered, it is exposed to the environment whereby precipitation in the form of rain, snow, ice, sleet, or the like as well as unwanted foreign matter may enter the cowling area until it is diverted to the sides away from the cowling. To prevent this unwanted material and matter which accumulates in the cowling area from entering into the inlet for the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, an HVAC cover or filter, more commonly referred to as a rainhat, or water dam is used. A typical rainhat found in the prior art includes a tubular-shaped member having a bottom flat flange. The tubular shaped member is inserted over a flared opening of the cowling and can be spot welded thereto. The area of contact of the rainhat flange with the cowling was sealed to prevent the inflow of water. After the tubular shaped member is attached to the flared opening of the cowling, a screen is attached over the tubular shaped member to reduce and prevent the ingestion of leaves or other debris into the heating and ventilation system. The screen is typically weldably attached to an encircling metallic band. The metallic band is either fixed to the tubular shaped member by welding, fasteners or clips. The screen is joined along its sides to the metallic band and typically has a generally flat top end.
Prior art rainhats suffered from a number of drawbacks and manufacturing difficulties. For example, complex manufacturing techniques, the number of separate components utilized, and the associated manufacturing costs are a major disadvantage. The prior art rainhats generally comprise a tubular shaped member, a metal band, three clips and a wire mesh screen. The screen (and encircling metallic band) generally cannot be placed on the tubular shaped member until the tubular shaped member is assembled or otherwise placed within the selected portion of the vehicle since the spot welding guns need to be inserted within the tubular shaped member during the fabrication process. Additionally, it is not uncommon for the spot welds to break or otherwise be uneven or non-uniform. When the spot weld is deficient, a portion of the tubular shaped member or of the flared opening is typically torn resulting in a crack or tear, which can lead to the ingestion of precipitation or other matter into the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system air intake. To protect the ends of the screen, the screen is generally inserted into the encircling metallic band. This allows a potential gap between the screen and the top end of the encircling metallic band to be created. The above noted gap may allow the entry of leaves or other debris, which can then block or otherwise prevent proper air intake through the opening.
An improvement over prior art rainhats is set forth and disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,300 assigned to LandL Products, Inc. of Romeo, Mich., which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. This patent discloses a rainhat which attaches to the cowling of an automotive vehicle using a flange. The cowling is disposed in position forward the vehicle windshield underneath the hood which covers the vehicle engine compartment. At least a portion of the cowling is a generally planar surface. The generally flat surface portion of the cowling encircles a flared opening. The flared opening receives air for the vehicle heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The rainhat disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,300 is formed from an integral unit of polymeric material by using a high temperature injection molding process which does not require the rainhat to be spot-welded to the cowling, but rather, attaches to the cowling using compliant barbs. Although the rainhat and technology set forth in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,300 works well and is advantageous in many applications, the present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a filter to prevent unwanted gaseous matter, carbon monoxide, fumes, unwanted odors, or other particulates or debris from entering an interior portion of the vehicle. The filter may also be used in combination with a screen to further prevent ingestion of unwanted materials into the interior portion or cabin of an automotive vehicle. The present invention further provides the freedom and flexibility of a snap-fit filter housing assembly which may be easily opened for replacement of parts, reduced labor savings, and ease of manufacturing operations during assembly and/or part replacement of the vehicle.
The present invention provides a foreign matter ingestion and air flow control device that aids in preventing foreign or gaseous matter ingestion and inhibition of air flow into portions of an automotive vehicle. In general, the foreign matter ingestion and air flow control device has a filter housing assembly that provides a snap-fit together filter housing member and filter housing cover which can be easily opened to replace a removable filter. More particularly, in a preferred embodiment, the filter housing assembly comprises:
A) a filter housing member adapted to house a filter, the filter housing member having
i) an upper peripheral wall,
ii) an intermediary portion, and
ii) a bottom portion, the bottom portion having
a) a bottom opening,
b) a screen, the screen being integrally formed within the bottom opening of the bottom portion therein, and optionally
c) an air filter;
B) a filter housing cover having
i) a top planar surface, the top planar surface having a flared opening disposed therein,
ii) a deflector portion, and
ii) a ridge portion, wherein the deflector portion and the ridge portion
cooperate to deflect and channel matter around the filter housing assembly; and
wherein the filter housing member and the filter housing cover are adapted to releasably snap-fit together. In this embodiment, the screen is formed by stamping the screen with the bottom portion. Additionally, a sealant may be provided and utilized for adhesively sealing the assembly to a receptacle in an automotive vehicle. The selected sealant may be an adhesive, a heat activatable sealant or a heat activatable expandable sealant, which undergoes activation during the automotive manufacturing operation, exposure to paint ovens, or other application of a heat energy source.
In an alternative embodiment, a filter housing assembly is provided for preventing foreign matter ingestion and inhibition of air flow into portions of an automotive vehicle, the assembly comprises:
A) a filter housing member adapted to house a filter, the filter housing member having
i) an upper peripheral wall, the upper peripheral wall having
a) at least two stop members disposed at an angle to the upper peripheral wall, the two stop member being spaced at two opposite ends of the filter housing member, and
b) a lower interior planar peripheral edge disposed inwardly at an angle from the upper peripheral wall, the lower interior planar peripheral edge defining an inner perimeter shelf for supporting the air filter,
ii) an intermediary portion angled and extending downwardly away from the upper peripheral wall,
iii) a bottom portion having
a) a screen integrally disposed within the bottom portion,
b) optionally, a removable air filter,
c) a bottom opening, the bottom opening having an interior portion for sealably attaching to the screen,
d) a lower planar surface, the lower planar surface being integrally formed with the intermediary portion and being spaced below the inner perimeter shelf, wherein the bottom opening is disposed within the lower planar surface, and
e) a lower extended wall extending vertically downwardly from the lower planar surface and surrounding the bottom opening;
B) a filter housing cover having
i) a top planar surface, the top planar surface having a flared opening disposed therewithin,
ii) a deflector portion, and
iii) a ridge portion, wherein the reflector portion and the ridge portion cooperate to deflect and channel matter, such as precipitation or other particulates, around the filter housing assembly, wherein the filter housing member and the filter housing cover are adapted to releasably snap-fit together;
C) means for attaching the assembly to a receptacle member of an automotive vehicle; and
D) means for releasably attaching the filter housing member to the filter housing cover. Additionally, a method of use for replacing a removable filter disposed within the housing assembly is provided.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, it is desirable to provide a foreign matter ingestion and air flow control device which does not require a single integral unit having a flange to engage a vehicle cowling. It is also desirable to provide a foreign matter ingestion and air flow control device which is easily assembled to provide reduced labor savings and thus is cheaper to manufacture. It is still another desire to provide a foreign matter ingestion and air flow control device having easily replaceable parts that operate to prevent unwanted fumes, odors, or gaseous matter, including unsafe gaseous compounds such as carbon monoxide and other combustion engine residue from entering a vehicle compartment. It is still also desirable to provide a foreign matter ingestion and air flow control device that may be used in the HVAC system and in other portions of the vehicle.
In a particular non-limiting embodiment, the present invention provides a filter housing assembly, which prevents foreign matter ingestion and inhibits targeted air flow into portions of an automotive vehicle having a releasable snap-fit together filter housing member and filter housing cover which can be easily opened to replace a removable filter. The filter housing assembly further has a screen and a filter that cooperate to prevent unwanted materials or particles from entering into an interior portion of an automotive vehicle.
The above-noted objects and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the invention is further explained in the accompanying detailed description and drawings.